Why is Company Culture Important to Your Business?

Mar 05, 2019 Margaret McAfee

The concept of “company culture” is one of those subjective areas that many businesses struggle to define. Understanding how to describe company culture is a challenge, and company culture is something that often evolves over time. For some, the definition relates to the “personality” of the company — is it fun, engaging, professional, open, transparent, or inclusive? For others, company culture examples have more to do with the company’s vision, values, assumptions, systems.

How do you define your organization’s company culture? Is it the same way your employees describe it?

Definitions aside, however, why is company culture important? After all, regardless of the organizational culture of a company, employees are still going to need to work to survive. So, in the long run, how important is company culture to an organization? In one word: Very.

Here are some of the advantages of having a defined and positive organizational culture:

1. A Strong Company Culture Attracts Top Talent

While a good salary and employee benefits are among the top reasons why prospective employees choose to accept a job with an employer, cultural fit is another top contender. If a candidate has concerns about whether they will fit into an organization culturally, they are less likely to accept a job – or to stay for long if they do accept it.

Communicating your company’s culture from the start helps prospective talent understand what they can expect to experience as an employee so they can make an informed decision about whether to move forward or look elsewhere. Considering how costly employee turnover can be, it’s vital to ensure that your organization’s company culture is positive, healthy, and is clearly communicated as part of your hiring strategy.

2. A Strong Company Culture Engages and Motivates Employees

Employee engagement is paramount to the success of any business — but it is also an issue that companies of all sizes struggle with daily. Employee engagement is inextricably linked to achieving organizational goals, retaining talent, and helping employees feel like they matter.

According to a Forbes interview with Kronos Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aron Ain, achieving employee engagement comes down to having a company culture that demonstrates open and transparent communication:

“The reason we have over 90% employee participation in our engagement surveys when we ask employees about it, they say, ‘It's because you do something about it. We can tell if we gave you feedback, that my manager sits down and talks to our group about something that came from our area, and then we take action to correct it, and do better going forward.’ That's very motivating for people.”

3. A Strong Company Culture Helps Retain Existing Employees

One of the most significant advantages of a strong and positive organizational culture is that it helps drive job satisfaction and employee engagement. While offering great jobs, salaries, and benefits are key selling points in attracting the best talent, there is more to retaining those employees once they are through the door. Companies that can attract the best talent and help those employees feel like they belong and are a part of something greater are more likely to retain them.

4. A Strong Company Culture is an Investment in Your Business

A Forbes article — citing a Columbia Business School survey of 1,400 North American CEOs and chief financial officers (CFOs) — indicates that 90% of the participants “indicated a strong belief that the quality of a company’s culture is inextricably linked with its financial success as well as its perceived ‘value’ in the world.” In a nutshell, company culture is a form of currency. However, the currency isn’t just financial — it is also measured in terms of your organization’s credibility, reputation, and brand image.

5. A Strong Company Culture Supports a Positive Brand Image

There are many reasons why organizational culture matters in the workplace. Employees and customers alike want to be able to say that they work for or with excellent organizations that have positive company culture and values — think of top-ranking companies like Bain & Company, Google, and LinkedIn. A company that values both its employees and customers helps everyone feel welcome, respected, and appreciated.

With a Defined Company Culture In Mind, Hire the Best Talent

When you have established a positive organizational culture, you’ll need top talent to help fill your ranks. This is where an experienced professional recruitment and staffing agency can help. 4 Corner Resources (4CR) is an award-winning staffing agency headquartered in Orlando, Florida. We work with some of the top companies in a variety of industries across central Florida and the greater United States.

To learn more about our recruiting and staffing services, or to ask us questions about your company culture, contact our team today.